茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Returning to the ward where his father was staying, both his father on the sickbed and his mother on the makeshift caregiver’s bed had already fallen asleep.

After checking on his parents, Xiang Kun quietly stepped out into the hallway again.

He attempted to co-manifest a piece of cake with a flick of his hand but did not succeed, so he looked up at the surveillance camera hanging in the corridor.

Before he “co-manifested”, he knew the surveillance was there. With his various super sensory abilities, it was nearly impossible for him not to detect electronic devices like surveillance cameras; they were the type of thing he instinctively noticed, and paid special attention to, having developed it as an instinctive habit.

Xiang Kun was simply trying to “pretend not to know,” fooling himself as he attempted to co-manifest.

He moved a few steps to a blind spot under the surveillance camera and successfully co-manifested this time. But as he held the co-manifested cake and attempted to move slowly away, the cake immediately disappeared.

Based on some phenomena he had observed before, Xiang Kun still believed that the main reason for this was not that the co-manifested items could not be photographed, but that his own subconscious was rejecting the situation of being photographed.

Perhaps, if someone attacked him with a sudden covert snapshot before he could react, or if there were surveillance equipment he could not detect, there may be a chance to photograph the items he co-manifested.

Unfortunately, with his sensory abilities, it was difficult to find equipment or people who could surprise him when he was unprepared. Surely, they wouldn’t resort to a satellite to capture images of him.

Fortunately, from his experiments today, Xiang Kun could infer that while his and Old Xia’s “Illusion Reality” were both calling on his abilities from the same root, whether or not Old Xia’s co-manifested items disappeared would have a direct relationship with Old Xia’s own subconscious.

Therefore, he could try to surprise Old Xia and take photographs while she was unprepared.

If successful, it could indirectly demonstrate that the subconscious of the person co-manifesting the item is resisting the capturing or recording of co-manifested items by electronic devices.

As for why, Xiang Kun had a vague guess in his heart.

He thought back to the phenomenon he observed when examining his own blood under a microscope – when he observed in real-time, the rate of blood decomposition and transformation accelerated.

He couldn’t understand why at that time, but thinking back now, was it his subconscious “commanding” the blood and other body tissues to transform into that gray powder quicker?

Normally, when body tissues leave his body, his subconscious can only “command” those disjointed body tissues as a whole. But when he observed at a cellular-level through a microscope, his subconscious gathered more detailed tissue information through vision and was able to “command” a lower level of tissue, hence the efficiency of decomposition and transformation greatly increased?

As for why his subconscious would do such a thing, Xiang Kun speculated that it might be instinctively “seeking benefits and avoiding harm”. Just like how normal people reflexively dodge when pricked with a needle, or want to run away when encountering terrifying creatures or dangerous situations.

Perhaps the longer the disembodied blood and other body tissues existed outside, or the slower they transformed, the more harmful it was to him.

Of course, it could also be said that the faster they transformed, the more beneficial it was.

So when he could observe cellular-level changes, his subconscious would “issue commands” for them to accelerate transformation.

Since he could establish a “super sensory contact” with some simple structured, simple composition items and achieve “Super-Distance Sensing,” it was not unreasonable for his subconscious to execute “commands” over distances.

Of course, these were all Xiang Kun’s speculations for now and further experiments and observations were still needed to corroborate them.

If he were alone, conducting certain tests would be more difficult. However, with Old Xia’s assistance, especially since Old Xia had developed the “Illusion Reality”—a method that allows him to establish special connections with his “Super-connected Objects” and “Emotion Infused Objects”—many things were going to be a lot more convenient and easier.

The next morning, before his parents woke up, Xiang Kun went home and cooked breakfast to bring it back to the hospital.

On his way back to the ward, he ran into a familiar face.

“Brother Xiang, what are you doing here?”

The person Xiang Kun had encountered at the ward was Brother Chu, Chu Xiuwen, whom he had become acquainted with in Tongshi Town to intermediate for Liu Feibao, and with whom Liu Caifu was familiar with.

“My family is staying in the hospital here. Brother Chu, what brings you here? Are you visiting a friend?” Xiang Kun looked at the fruit basket Chu Xiuwen was carrying and asked.

“Indeed, the father of an old friend of mine is also hospitalized at First Affiliated Hospital.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Chu Xiuwen learned that Xiang Kun’s father was the one hospitalized. He insisted on going to pay a visit. Xiang Kun didn’t object, as his impression of Chu was good. They went back to his father’s ward together. However, Xiang Kun asked Chu in advance not to mention how they had met in Tongshi Town, or their collaboration with Liu Caifu and You Meng in front of his parents.

Since Xiang Kun’s father had worked in Tongshi Town for quite a long time, Chu Xiuwen, a local, was able to converse about many events that had occurred ten or twenty years ago. Therefore, they quickly found common ground and chatted easily.

Despite having a mild concussion and requiring two days of hospital observation, Xiang Kun’s father was actually free of any concussion symptoms. Apart from having fallen on his buttocks and needing to rest, his overall spirits were high. So when someone brought up stories about his younger days in Tongshi Town, he was lively and spirited.

As such, Chu Xiuwen stayed in Xiang Kun’s father’s ward for nearly an hour before he excused himself. However, before leaving, he firmly left behind the fruit basket.

Chu Xiuwen had come to the hospital ward to visit Mr. Guo, the father of his good friend Guo Lin. On the evening of the 29th day of the last lunar month, Mr. Guo had a sudden heart attack on his way home on the bullet train. Although he was rescued, he needed to stay in the hospital for observation over the New Year.

Chu had accompanied Guo Lin to the hospital on the 29th, after which he had returned to Tongshi Town. It was not until today that he had a chance to come back to visit Mr. Guo. But he certainly hadn’t expected to meet Xiang Kun here.

Reflecting on his recent conversations with Xiang Kun’s parents, Chu Xiuwen was puzzled. They seemed like normal, lovely people, showing no signs of any special backgrounds.

From what Xiang Kun’s parents mentioned about the people and events related to Tongshi Town, he could basically confirm everything as true. In addition, Xiang Kun’s old classmate relationship with You Meng was also easy to verify. This meant that, regardless of what Xiang Kun did after he graduated from college, his family and social relationships in Citong and Tongshi Town were indeed plain and ordinary.

Ji Hang had claimed with certainty that Xiang Kun had a special official background. So the only possibility was that he had come into contact with some secret official departments during his university or working years and had started working for them. However, Xiang Kun’s university and work records were also very clear.

Could it be, that… Ji Hang got it wrong?

Could it be a misunderstanding if Liu Feibao, Qi Haoguo, and others, like Ji Hang, misidentified Xiang Kun to be someone rather powerful?

After all, Chu Xiuwen himself, as well as his family and friends, many of whom were within the system or had direct and frequent contact with it, didn’t notice any signs that the government intended to secretly intervene in the development of Tongshi Town through any special or secret departments. Moreover, it wouldn’t even be necessary. If some bigwig had privately asked Xiang Kun for a favor, it wouldn’t have been possible for Chu to find no clues at all. Liu Feibao’s, Qi Haoguo’s, and even Liu Caifu’s reactions all seemed a bit irrational to Chu, especially Qi Haoguo’s recent series of strange actions.

As he was thinking, Chu Xiuwen had already arrived at Guo Lin’s father’s ward.

He had often seen Guo Lin’s father before, so they were familiar with each other. Upon entering, he started chatting with Mr. Guo, who seemed in good spirits.

Guo Lin’s wife and son were also in the ward, while Guo Lin was on the phone by the window.

Mr. Guo, lying in his hospital bed, looked at his son who had just finished a phone call and said, “Did you get in touch with Dr. Zhou? We must thank him properly for saving my life. As soon as I’m discharged, we’ll go see him together.”

It was clear that the person on the other end of the call was Dr. Zhou Yiqing, who had saved Mr. Guo’s life at the train station. Dr. Zhou had left his phone number and name when he handed Mr. Guo over to the ambulance, which is how they managed to contact him.

After hearing his father’s words, Guo Lin hesitated slightly before saying, “Dad, when Dr. Zhou learned that we were at the First Affiliated Hospital, he said that he was coming to the hospital today and would take the opportunity to come and visit you…”

At this, not only was Mr. Guo taken aback, but also Chu Xiuwen who was chatting with him, as well as Mrs. Guo, who was peeling an apple, all looked somewhat surprised.

Dr. Zhou was so proactive?

He was rushing over to visit Mr. Guo…

Inevitably, Chu Xiuwen speculated whether Dr. Zhou had discovered Mr. Guo’s status and wanted to personally make a good impression and establish connections?

Although Mr. Guo had retired long ago and wasn’t involved in any affairs, spending his days traveling and reminiscing with old comrades, he still held considerable influence locally.

After a moment of stunned silence, Mr. Guo frowned and scolded his son, “Guo Lin, are you suggesting that you don’t want me to leave the hospital early, that you implied as much to Dr. Zhou and that’s why he’s coming?”

Guo Lin quickly denied this, “No, not at all. As soon as I told Dr. Zhou I was your son, he immediately asked about your health status. Once he knew we were at the First Affiliated Hospital, he offered to come over. We exchanged only a couple of sentences in total, and you must have heard it.”

And so, as they waited for Dr. Zhou to arrive, everyone in the ward couldn’t help but feel that Dr. Zhou Yiqing seemed a bit overzealous, although no one voiced their thoughts.

However, an hour later, when the handsome and tall Dr. Zhou Yiqing arrived in the ward, they all greeted him warmly. After all, regardless of anything else, he was the life-saving benefactor of Mr. Guo. Without him, Mr. Guo certainly wouldn’t have survived long enough to be taken to the hospital by the ambulance.

But to their surprise, after asking about Mr. Guo’s condition, Dr. Zhou directly said, “Actually, it wasn’t me who saved Mr. Guo. It was a doctor from the Cardiothoracic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital. However, the doctor left in a hurry and didn’t leave his name. I came over because I wanted to meet him and ask about some things.”

That certainly surprised everyone in the ward. Therefore, Guo Lin, who knew many people and had a lot of connections in the hospital, accompanied Zhou Yiqing to the Cardiothoracic Surgery department to find the “true life-saving benefactor”. Out of curiosity, Chu Xiuwen naturally followed along.

Of course, it was the second day of the lunar new year, so the doctor might not be at work. But as long as they reached the Cardiothoracic Surgery department and described the doctor’s appearance, they should be able to identify him. Once they knew his identity, they could contact him and visit whenever.

According to Zhou Yiqing’s description, the doctor was tall and seemed robust, and his voice and demeanor suggested he was not very old. Such physical characteristics should be easy to distinguish among the few male doctors in the Cardiothoracic Surgery department.

But to their surprise, the only doctor who matched the height description was Dr. Zhao, who was in his fifties. And Dr. Zhao was on duty that day. He told Zhou Yiqing directly that he was not the person they were looking for–judging from his thin and frail figure, Dr. Zhao couldn’t possibly be the figure Zhou Yiqing had seen.

After failing to find the person in the Cardiothoracic Surgery, Zhou Yiqing, still not convinced, went with Guo Lin and Chu Xiuwen to meet with the hospital administration to ask about the doctor who might have helped at the train station that afternoon.

Such a good deed demonstrating medical ethics was something the hospital administration would certainly want to acknowledge, so they helped in the search. However, no one matched the physical description or the timing–either they didn’t fit the physical description, or they weren’t at the train station at the time, or they simply weren’t in Citong.

So after all that fuss, Zhou Yiqing could only conclude that the person who had actually stepped in to save a life was likely a doctor from the “Cardiothoracic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital” in another place. After all, the name “First Affiliated Hospital” is quite common across many cities. It’s possible that the doctor, like him, worked elsewhere and was only in Citong for the New Year.

Guo Lin had just finished watching the unedited video footage of the incident, which was filmed by a passenger standing nearby. The video showed the man who claimed to be a doctor from the “First Affiliated Hospital Cardiothoracic Surgery” department.

But honestly, from the process he saw in the video, it seemed like the man had simply placed his hand on his father’s chest momentarily after appearing, and then immediately stood up without saying a word and left quickly. It looked as if he was thinking, “the person is beyond saving, I should get out of here”. Even if he had managed to save a life, there was no need to dart off as if he was afraid of being accosted.

So he couldn’t help but say to Zhou Yiqing, “Dr. Zhou, this guy… is it possible that he’s just a passerby claiming to be a doctor and causing trouble for fun? You know, nowadays, lots of people would do weird things just to film a short video…”

Zhou Yiqing shook his head, “I have carefully recalled the situation at the time over the past few days and also thoroughly reviewed the videos recorded by bystanders. So, I am clear about the changes in your father’s health before and after this doctor appeared. He certainly did something at that time, but unfortunately, he was turning his back to me and I couldn’t see some of his operating details clearly… Anyway, I am sure he saved your father, as for how he saved him, I equally want to know.”

Guo Lin had no choice but to say, “Regardless, Dr. Zhou, you are also one of my father’s saviors. It’s getting late, why don’t we have lunch together? That will give our family a chance to express our gratitude properly…”

However, Zhou Yiqing firmly refused, not even going back to Mr. Guo’s ward. He just asked Guo Lin to say goodbye to Mr. Guo for him, then planned to leave the hospital.

Upon learning that Zhou Yiqing had taken a taxi over, Chu Xiuwen gave him a lift home, under the pretext of that he was also about to depart.

Zhou Yiqing didn’t refuse and left for the parking lot with Chu Xiuwen and got into his car.

While steering the wheel, Chu Xiuwen chuckled, “Dr. Zhou, why do I feel like you’re more eager to find that so-called cardiothoracic surgeon than the Guos?”

Zhou Yiqing thought for a moment, shook his head and smiled, “Indeed, the more I recall what happened, the more curious I become, some unrealistic ideas even popped up in my head. So finding that doctor to confirm, will make me… somewhat more settled.”

“Oh? Unrealistic ideas, like what?” Chu Xiuwen was puzzled.

“You must have watched that video on my phone, Mr. Chu. That doctor was wearing a hooded jacket and kept his head down throughout…”

Chu Xiuwen suddenly realized, “You mean, he seemed like he didn’t want anyone to notice his appearance?”

“The more I think about it, the stronger I feel about it. Taking into account his peculiar method, and Mr. Guo’s quick recovery… I even had this idea in the past few days, that the doctor is a virtuous medical practitioner with superpowers or special equipment. This is the naive idea I came up with when I was confused, Mr. Chu, please don’t laugh at me.” Zhou Yiqing said, while also self-deprecatingly laughing at himself. It was evident that he found what he was saying unbelievable.

Chu Xiuwen of course didn’t think there were any superhuman heroes about, but still laughed along and said, “It’s normal for there to be things we don’t know or understand in this world.”

After queuing up to leave the hospital, Chu Xiuwen suddenly noticed Xiang Kun standing nearby and rolled down his window to call out to him, “Brother Xiang, where are you headed? Do you need a lift?”

Xiang Kun turned and smiled, “I’m going to meet a friend, taking the bus is very convenient. My bus is here, let’s catch up some other time?” Then he got on a bus that had just pulled into the station.

Chu Xiuwen turned the car in the opposite direction and said casually, “Just a friend I ran into at the hospital this morning, their family member is also here for treatment. What a coincidence.”

He quickly noticed that Zhou Yiqing, who was sitting in the passenger seat, had a strange look on his face and kept glancing back at the spot where Xiang Kun had boarded the bus. He couldn’t help but wonder, “Dr. Zhou, do you also know my Brother Xiang?”

Zhou Yiqing frowned and said, “His jacket… it looks quite similar to the one worn by the doctor who saved the person at the bus station… But that doctor definitely didn’t wear glasses. It’s a shame that the doctor wore a hood the whole time, so I couldn’t see if he had any hair.”

It was like a bolt of lightning had struck Chu Xiuwen’s mind. He thought back to a chat he had in Xiang Kun’s father’s ward, Mrs. Xiang had mentioned that Xiang Kun returned to Citong just the day before New Year’s Eve… Wasn’t that the 29th?!

Thinking back to Zhou Yiqing’s description of that person’s figure, and the figure in the video he had seen, Chu Xiuwen quickly replaced the figure with Xiang Kun’s image.

Could it really be him?!